I must say I have be impressed with this kid. He has goals of one day leading Team Sweden in international play. Big shoes to fill for him to make it but he stokes me as a guy who will work on his goal.

Like a lot of people I was concerned about losing CS although I was in the camp that was glad we kept Luongo. The team has a do over on how they will handle this situation moving forward, learn from past mistakes.

Although Lack has far from proven he can be a number one in the NHL I like the fact we gave him a new two year deal. He has three seasons to learn under Luongo and perfect his game. I am excited about our depth in net, both with Lack and the kids in a Utica.

Although I would hate to turn the team over to Lack next year if he keeps developing I can see two years from now having a goal dilemma again. And if his development goes well I could see Luongo being moved when the cap is much higher and teams still desperate for goaltending get over the cap recapture and bite the bullet. The longer they wait the less of a cap recapture penalty they would have as his salary and cap number would be pretty comparable. For us it would get worse.

IF (and this is a big IF) Eddie Lack has 2-3 more performances like tonight's game, and his game against St.Louis, how much do you think he'd fetch us at the trade deadline?

If he has a few more performances like he did tonight before the trade deadline, you have to think that he'd be considered a legit blue chip prospect, and that perhaps other teams would be willing to give us a blue chip forward or defenseman in return.

The Brown Knight wrote:If he has a few more performances like he did tonight before the trade deadline, you have to think that he'd be considered a legit blue chip prospect, and that perhaps other teams would be willing to give us a blue chip forward or defenseman in return.

maybe a miniature version of Schneider for Horvat?

Considering Schneider, who was much more proven and coveted, fetched a top-10 pick... I would say you're probably not going to get much for him. That is a trade 100% guaranteed to cause regret later, imo.

Aaronp18 wrote:He's the perfect backup. Cheap, young and a ton of potential.

Give him this year and next behind Luo and then see where we are at.

Absolutely love the fact that he can handle the puck better than any tender we've had since Cap'n Kirk!

I noticed that the Nucks seem to be holding Lack back a bit. He gets a shutout and they go back with Lou, Lack doesn't get any minutes till like 10 days after. I guess they're trying to avoid any goaltending controversy (Cory Schneids 2.0) and they want to keep Lou happy. I know Lack will get his chance and he's the type of kid who won't complain to play behind Lou for couple years. Just would be nice as a fan to see Lack get more games, he's fun to watch and he seems to get the job done.

Todd Bersnoozi wrote:I noticed that the Nucks seem to be holding Lack back a bit. He gets a shutout and they go back with Lou, Lack doesn't get any minutes till like 10 days after. I guess they're trying to avoid any goaltending controversy (Cory Schneids 2.0) and they want to keep Lou happy. I know Lack will get his chance and he's the type of kid who won't complain to play behind Lou for couple years. Just would be nice as a fan to see Lack get more games, he's fun to watch and he seems to get the job done.

Get where you're comin' from, but disagree.

I don't think there's a goaltending controversy, I don't even think there's an idea that one is a possibility right now.

With Cory, the team was pretty clearly headed in a direction - AFTER the potential of #35 as a legitimate starter had been realized - to try to move Luongo's whale contract. We all know how this ended - I feel bad that Cory is floundering in the ugliest city on the planet not named Winnipeg, but he has his chance now, and is being mentored by the greatest of all time. Best of luck!

A running theme with Luongo (as the undisputed starter) for years has been to get him 60-65 starts (top end) because they don't want him to burn out, though he'd be the first to say he'd play every game if they let him. Lack will get his 15-20, maybe more, and so far he has shown incredible composition an poise for such an un-tested entity at this level. The mini-marathon shootout with Chicago was really impressive to me. He is big, but he really takes advantage of his size. His net presence and lateral movement is amazing for his experience, and everyone loves that glove hand.

Another thing to consider is the goofy, compacted schedule that we (and others) have because of the 2 week vacation in the Motherland. Unless one is ill, or terribly rattled, Luongo and Lack will continue to go 1 for 1 on back to back game nights when we have them.

At this point, as fans I think we should be happy that we have a great starter in very good form, a back-up that does not leave doubt on the table, and a team that - while aging and losing some potency at the core - more consistently plays a 200 ft game in front of whoever 'the man' is for the night.

The Brown Knight wrote:If he has a few more performances like he did tonight before the trade deadline, you have to think that he'd be considered a legit blue chip prospect, and that perhaps other teams would be willing to give us a blue chip forward or defenseman in return.

maybe a miniature version of Schneider for Horvat?

Considering Schneider, who was much more proven and coveted, fetched a top-10 pick... I would say you're probably not going to get much for him. That is a trade 100% guaranteed to cause regret later, imo.

+1

You have to consider who would back up Lou if MG traded Lack. There's nobody on the farm who is ready, and are there many back-up goalies who would be available who could come close to providing what Lack does - even if they're older?

Lack is just what the team needs in terms of a young, solid back-up who can learn under a great pro like Lou - with whom he enjoys a pretty good relationship. The way he's playing, if Lou comes up lame/ill or gets rattled in the playoffs I would be more than comfy seeing Lack in the net. Given the history, that is an invaluable thing to have.

As for the future, the kid's what, 25? Give him 2-3 more years and see whether it's time to let one of them go, I wouldn't be surprised if this time Lou would be the one going. That said, you never know considering what happened last summer and at the very least we don't have to worry about who will spell in for Lou.

CS was pretty well treated the same as Lack in his first full year. The season he and Luongo won the Jennings, Luongo was pulled with under two minutes to go in the final game of the season to give Cory enough appearances to get his name on the Jennings Trophy.

So I don't think they are holding Lack back. I think Luongo is the clear starter who plays well when he plays a lot and Lack is still unproven. Next season I expect he will play more and go from there. But who knows. Maybe he plays well enough and they trade Luongo this summer. I think there will be more of a market for him then.